NCLB

I think sometimes a bad thing started out as good thing but as it evolved it became a monster. I believe that is the case with NCLB - No Child Left Behind. This is the act that was introduced by George W. Bush early on in his presidency. The thought is that by the year 2011 (I think) all children will be able to read proficiently, at their grade level. That is the only thing I pay attention to because that is what my teaching is judged on. For instance, in 2nd grade, an exiting student will be able to read 96 words per minute correctly. There are many other aspects to NCLB, including math and sciences. NCLB is a great idea, and completely possible, if all children came from the same mold. Unfortunately, that is not the way the real world operates.
Next week, we will have our second IRI (Idaho Reading Indicator) assessment of the year. All the teachers at our school are STRESSED. Why? Because if all your students don't get a 3 on the test (the highest score indicating proficient) you as a teacher are a big failure. It doesn't matter if a student entered 2nd grade reading 4 words per minute and now can read 34 words per minute. Each student was supposed to be able to read 82 words a minute as of January and yours didn't. Now you are a big failure. Well at least that is how you are treated by the administration. Our teaching has become consumed by it. We are teaching to a test - not teaching to an understanding of the concepts. Its like cramming in college. As soon as we teach it the concept is forgotten because we didn't really "teach" it - we just crammed it in.
One thing that the "powers" have forgotten is that kids aren't all consumed by improving their reading speed. Some are concerned with where they are going to sleep tonight or where they slept last night. Some are wondering if they will have any food over the weekend. Others wonder if they are safe. I have one boy that worries if his medicine is going to work or if he will attack himself or his family members uncontrollably. Only a handful come from families that actually care if their child reads or not - sometimes because they can't read. All of these factors have a great impact on how the student will perform. The pressure isn't just coming from local administrations. It has come from the big W. in the White House and trickled down.
I only hope that with a new president some things will change and I can become a teacher again and not an administrator of progress monitoring and tests. Until then, good luck to all of us.